New Delhi, March 24 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met a delegation of leading Sikh intellectual voices from across the country at his official residence here.
The meeting witnessed freewheeling interaction by the Prime Minister with the delegation on diverse topics like farmer welfare, youth empowerment, drug free society, National Educational Policy, skilling, employment, technology and Punjab's overall development trajectory.
The Prime Minister, while expressing his happiness at meeting the delegation, said the intellectuals are opinion makers of the society.
Urging the members of the delegation to engage and educate the public and work towards making the citizenry properly informed, he emphasised the importance of the spirit of unity which acts as the central pillar amidst the wide and beautiful diversity of our country.
The Prime Minister talked about the significance of education in mother tongue.
"Efforts are being made to develop professional courses in Indian languages so that higher education in mother tongue becomes reality," the Prime Minister said.
It is learnt that the delegation thanked the Prime Minister for the invitation and said that they had never imagined that the Prime Minister of the country would engage with them in such an informal setting.
They also appreciated the continuous and multiple steps taken by the Prime Minister for the betterment of Sikh community.
A Kashmiri student, who is in the first year of B.Sc. Medical Radiology and Imaging Technology (BMRIT) course was placed under suspension by the Dehradun-based Ras Bihari Bose Subharti University for allegedly posting objectionable content related to the Pulwama terror attack.
Sidhu also said that his statement was 'distorted' and he continues to stand by his statement that terrorism has no 'dharam, mazhab, zaat aur desh' (religion, caste or country).
At a public function in Pandharkawada in Yavatmal district, where he launched a number of projects, Modi said Pakistan had become a synonym for terrorism.
A former vicar of a Catholic church near here was on Saturday sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping and impregnating a minor in 2016.
